Around the horn in Greece - and does Greece really want to vote in a strong man ( Samaras ) ?

http://www.athensnews.gr/portal/11/55175

Francois Holland: Greek burden needs to be lightened

26 Apr 2012

Francois Hollande, Socialist candidate for the 2012 French presidential election, attends a news conference as he campaigns ahead of the second round vote in Paris, 25 April 2012 (Reuters) Greece has reached the limits of what it can take and needs to be put on a path to development, the Socialist candidate in the French presidential election said on Wednesday.   Describing the situation in Greece as a "vicious cycle", Francois Holland said that the country was in the midst of "a very bad recession".   "It cannot take any more. Whatever the sacrifices, they are important … [but] they are not having the results in terms of deficit reduction desired by the international community and Europe."   "We need to lighten the burden" on Greece, said Holland, who led in Sunday's first round of the election, adding that if beats President Nicholas Sarkozy in the run-off election on May 6, he would " convince the Greeks – after they have voted – of the need for stability and coherence".   In a strong indication that he believes more can be done to help Greece get back on track to development, Holland said: "Greece cannot utilise [EU] structural funds because it cannot support the components that are required for this. So we need to ensure that Greece can rediscover a level of growth."   At a presidential-style news conference in Paris, the self-confident favourite said that leaders across Europe were awaiting his election to back away from German-inspired austerity, and he welcomed a call by ECB President Mario Draghi for a growth pact. Fiscal pact needs reform    Hollande says a budget discipline treaty signed by 25 EU leaders in March would plunge Europe into a deep recession.   He said he would set out his ideas for reforming the pact in a letter to European leaders the very next day.   "On this front things are already moving forward. Before Sunday's election, heads of state were already starting to say what I was proposing - the ambition for growth, the willingness to include more in the treaty than just fiscal discipline and sanctions," Hollande said.   "Today many heads of state and government are waiting for the French election to open these discussions," he said, citing Spain and Italy among countries resisting excessive austerity.   Insisting that he was not questioning the principle of balanced budgets, Hollande said he would have a "firm and friendly" discussion with Merkel on the pace of fiscal consolidation.   In the first clear indication that he would not necessarily seek to change the existing text, he said that whether a growth pact was added to the treaty or agreed in a separate document was a matter for negotiation, he said.   Hollande said his letter to EU leaders would suggest four changes, including the creation of joint European bonds to finance infrastructure projects and greater investment by the European Investment Bank (EIB).   He also backed a financial transaction tax levied by like-minded countries to help fund youth and education projects and a more efficient deployment of EU regional development resources.   Hollande welcomed Draghi's call for a "growth compact" in the European Parliament on Wednesday, although he recognised that the central bank chief did not necessarily envisage the same kinds of measures he was advocating.   Draghi did not question the thrust of the fiscal compact – of which he was a leading advocate. He has long argued in favour of structural reforms to labour, goods and services markets, which would increase the flexibility of European economies and their growth potential.   "This goes in the direction which I was talking about," Hollande said. "He is not necessarily talking about the same measures as me to stimulate growth." (Athens News/tp/dmcu, additional reporting Reuters) and.....

http://www.athensnews.gr/portal/1/55170

News bites @ 10

by Damian Mac Con Uladh 26 Apr 2012

All smiles: Aleka Papariga, head of the Communist Party (KKE), poses in front of the Parthenon temple during an election campaign visit at the Acropolis, 25 April 2012 (Reuters) 1. MIGRATION Greece is in favour of implementing a readmission agreement for illegal entry with Turkey in order to protect its borders, the citizen protection minister told MEPs on Wednesday. Addressing the European Parliament's civil liberties, justice and home affairs committee, Michalis Chrysochoidis called for European interior ministers to endorse the agreement at its next meeting. He pointed out that in order for a country to protect its borders, its neighbours had to do the same. "Turkey does not guard its borders," he underlined, citing examples where Turkish migrant traffickers have thrown women and children into the sea near Greek islands, forcing the Greek authorities to rescue them. 2. MINISTERS ARGUE OVER MIGRATIONMeanwhile, back in Athens, the opening of the first detention centres for undocumented migrants is hanging in the balance as a result of a dispute between ministers. The citizen protection ministry wants to open the centre, at Amygdaleza in northern Athens, before the May 6 general elections, but this has been strenuously opposed by the transport minister, Makis Voridis, in whose constituency the area lies. Voridis claims that the prefabs destined for the migrants are actually for use as temporary housing in the eventuality of an earthquake and are under his jurisdiction. But Citizen Protection Minister Michalis Chrysochoidis on Wednesday insisted the centre would open before the elections. 3. 96% HAIRCUT Private-sector participation in the so-called public sector involvement (PSI) bond swap has reached 96.9 percent, the finance ministry has announced. It said the third and final settlement in the haircut deal was concluded on Wednesday, restructuring about 199bn euros of the state debt. 4. POLICE SOUGHT A magistrate will now hunt for the riot police officer responsible for firing a stun grenade at a journalist that resulted in him completely losing his hearing in both ears. The journalist, Manolis Kypraios, was covering a demonstration by the Indignants in June of last year at Syntagma Square when the incident happened. After carrying out a preliminary investigation that failed to identify the police culprits, a prosecutor referred the case to a magistrate, recommending that criminal charges for intentional bodily harm be taken against persons unknown. 5. MAYDAY ON MAY DAY Serious problems are expected in shipping on May 1 following the decision by two mariners' unions, Pemen and Penen, to hold a 24-hour strike on that day. Earlier in the week, the umbrella Panhellenic Seamen's Union (PNO) had called a four-hour strike on all sailings. But some of the federation's member unions deem this to be insufficient and have called a 24-hour strike instead. 6. MINISTERS OUT The Radical Left Coalition (Syriza) on Wednesday called for the replacement of the citizen protection, interior, justice and state ministers, as is customary in every general election. Syriza said that the government, rather than being a caretaker one with its only mission being to lead the country to elections, is taking decisions that are binding on the next parliament and government. 7. CONTRABAND CONFISCATED A 42-year-old man was arrested by police for carrying 169,340 packets of contraband cigarettes in a truck that he was driving along the new Athens-Patras motorway. The truck, 3,000 euros in cash and two mobile phones were confiscated. Officials estimate that the state would have lost 559,840 euros in taxes and duties were the cigarettes sold. The 42-year-old will be brought before a prosecutor in the city of Corinth. 8. POWER DEADLINE Private power companies have 20 days to settle their debts to the electricity grid operator and various producers or face the risk of fines and losing their licence, the Regulatory Authority for Energy (RAE) said on Wednesday. The Association of Photovoltaic Power Producers blamed the situation on the "amateurish" way the retail power market was deregulated through private companies such as Energa or Hellas Power. It said the total amount due to renewable energy producers, both in current and overdue debts, amounts to 162m euros, of which 60m was owed to photovoltaic producers. Meanwhile, the country's main electricity producer, the Public Power Corporation (DEI), is owed 1.2bn euros in unpaid bills. 9. CLOSE SHAVE A man has been hospitalised after he fell onto the tracks at Ampelokipi metro station at around 8am and was run over by a train. In circumstances that are not year clear, the man, aged 50, fell onto the track, hit his head, was run over by a train and became trapped under it. He was freed by firefighters. The incident caused the station to close temporarily. and.... http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/apr/26/eurozone-crisis-live-dutch-parliament 11.18am: Some Greeks at least are finding his proposals a little scary. Diane Shugart@dianalizia listening to samaras's speech i've begun to feel like i'm marion crane and have just let norman bates into the shower 26 Apr 12 Reply Retweet Favorite And there's plenty more where that came from, if you check out Diane Shugart's Twitter feed. Greek conservative party leader Antonis Samaras waves to supporters after a pre-election rally in Athens. Photograph: John Kolesidis/REUTERS 11.10am: Over to Greece, where our correspondent Helena Smith says Antonis Samaras, the man tipped to win upcoming general elections, is unveiling his political policies. Barely 10 days before Greeks go to the polls, the conservative leader Antonis Samaras racheted up the rhetoric telling the crisis-hit nation it should overcome the "taboos" that have flourished with what he described as "a leftwing stranglehold" of the country's political life. Samaras said the Greek state had all but "collapsed" not only because of the country's financial crisis but "lawlessness" that had been allowed to run riot in recent years. Samaras, whose New Democracy party is poised to emerge as the poll's winner – although is unlikely to win an overall majority – said the first taboo was identifying the people who have high-jacked anti-austerity protests, torching buildings, destroying businesses, shops and banks whenever demonstrators have taken en masse to the streets. "I have said it before and I will say it again we will remove the masks from these hoodies," he said, taking a hardline stance on soaring crime and flagrant drug abuse – social ills that have flourished with the meltdown of the debt-stricken Greek economy. "Terror and fear rules in neighborhoods [in Athens] and this has to stop," he insisted. Following the May 6 poll, the new government would step up its fight against illegal immigration that has further piled the pressure on an infrastructure barely able to cope because of Greece's parlous public finances. "Our borders on European borders and we will work through diplomatic channels, we will work in every way to stop this," he said emphasizing that the new government will also strive to improve the pay-packets of police officers who, like all civil servants, have seen their wages drop because of the crisis. Samaras, who is likely to be forced into a coalition government with the centre-left Pasok party, reiterrated that it was vital Athens curb "wasteful public spending" – a theme he highlighted when he unveiled his economic policies over the weekend. "The era of privileges for politicians of driving around in limousines is over," he said.